|
A very old chestnut. When I was studying for my PMG 2nd Class in 1958, the press and the scientific community were full of Project Zeta. All I can remember was that Harwell and Newcastle University were involved and it necessitated use of a torus - my first introduction to toroidal components. It was going to produce electricity at such a low cost that within 30 years it would not be cost-effective to charge customers for electricity - the cost of invoicing would outweigh the production costs.
Every decade since then (or thereabouts), an announcement appears about a breakthrough in nuclear fusion, such that within 30 years electricity will be produced by this technology. It always seems to be 30 years away, keeping its distance rather like the end of the rainbow. The references always used to be to the potentially low production cost but in latter years that seems to have lost importance and the claims now are more biased towards low-carbon and climate change benefits.
__________________
Ron
__________________________________________________ _________________________
Never regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many. Don't worry about old age - it doesn't last.
|